Eleftheria Square, Nicosia
Zaha Hadid Architects 


Adjacent to the Venetian Walls of the Cypriot capital and taking up part of the dry moat surrounding the city’s old sector is Eleftheria Square, a public park that transforms the zone with tree-lined promenades, green spaces, fountains, and paved areas. The urban landscape incorporates curving concrete stairs and bridges connecting the dry boat to the nearby streets. The irregular geometries of these fluid forms help to define the character of the different spaces, giving them movement while generating seats at the bases of the columns and providing structural reinforcement in a region prone to earthquakes. The granite paving in the moat presents open joints between slabs that create a passive rainwater drainage system, allowing the trees to naturally balance the groundwater levels and minimize erosion of the foundations of the medieval walls.